Mapping Dowry Exchanges: Snapshots of Nineteenth Century Palm Leaves

The Palm leave records of the Syrian Christian communities in Kerala, belonging to eighteenth and nineteenth century, remain as evidences of the practice of dowry (Stridhanam) among the Syrian Christians and donations such as passaram, nadavazhakkam, kurippanam, kudappanam etc made to the churches and priests in relation to the marriage. Records say that this social custom, also known as Stridhanam was a crucial point of marriage and it was very often a matter of dispute and family problems. In spite of all disputes and difficulties existed in the Syrian Christian families and in the society at large because of this custom, no church record could be traced against this system. This paper is an attempt to explore and analyse the nature and practice of this social custom among Syrian Christians in the nineteenth century, who are Christian in faith and religion but are not different from the Hindus in their social customs and practices. Likewise, this paper is an attempt to analyse the social and cultural impacts of dowry (stridhanam) and the attitude of the society as well as that of Church authorities towards this custom and how did they tax the people in connection with the marriage. Keywords: Dowry; stridhanam; syrian christians; passaram; nadavazhakkam; palm leave records; christian marriage